She Found Her Voice: The Life of Nancy Evans Roles, Artist and Advocate
Description
THE ART OF BECOMING tantalizes all who spend time in reflection. As a young woman coming of age in early twentieth-century America, Nancy Evans Roles documented faithfully her keen observations and rich experiences. Her reflections helped form the person she would become as she built a life of purpose and consequence.
Born in the rural South in 1908, in her twenties Nancy was introduced to the work of John Dewey, a champion of the progressive education movement. The philosophy that education must prepare students for active participation in their world would be an enduring touchstone for her. Indefatigable as a community leader, Nancy was a formidable advocate for social justice and an important voice in civic debate. She also found later success as a prolific plein air artist, all while forging a fulfilling personal life.
In She Found Her Voice, Barbara Roles McKinnon chronicles her mother's life through exploration of her papers and artifacts, and interviews with her and her contemporaries. This biography offers insight into the imagination, vision, and complexities of a woman whose life spanned a century marked by seismic transformation and whose body of work reflected a holistic, mature ethic and a deep appreciation of the natural world.
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Reviews
Barbara McKinnon's biography of her mother does so much more than tell the story of how this woman of the twentieth century found her voice. She reveals how Nancy Evans Roles fully created her own self-visualizing the mural of her life and then building upon it with the colors and textures of her faith, her various roles in creating/teaching/mothering, and ultimately her impacts as a community leader and advocate for social justice. This isn't just a story of one remarkable life. It is a guide for anyone to follow who aspires to discover and then fulfill their own purpose in this world. This is the story of an honest seeker, a speaker, an artist, and ultimately a soul seeking communion with God. It is a majestic blueprint for others to follow.
-MAJOR GENERAL MARI K. EDER (RET.), AUTHOR OF THE GIRLS WHO STEPPED OUT OF LINE
In this well-written and interesting tribute to her mother, Barbara McKinnon recounts the remarkable life of Nancy Evans Roles. A woman of the twentieth century, a wife and a mother, Nancy Roles chose to get involved in the major issues of her day. As a social leader, an educator, and an artist, she participated in the fight for women's rights, better healthcare, and better education, and contributed to the social changes that marked the years of her life. A book well worth reading.
-MARTHE CZUFIN, FORMER ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF FRENCH LITERATURE, UNIVERSITY OF BUCHAREST, ROMANIA
McKinnon's biography of her mother seizes upon an existential anxiety that pulses through many of us: a wanderlust for life that inspires us daily yet leads to a lifelong search for something that we are unable to define. Nancy wrestles like Jacob to find her own way not only in education, but also as an artist, wife, mother, and woman of faith. She invites us all to never stop seeking and wrestling with God as we define our voice and passion.
-THE REVEREND CHRISTIAN ANDERSON, SENIOR ASSOCIATE RECTOR, ST. MARY'S EPISCOPAL CHURCH
I was caught by Barbara McKinnon's She Found Her Voice, a biography of her mother, Nancy Evans Roles-immediately intrigued by Nancy's journal entries chronicling her early life. McKinnon did the painstaking work of smoothly transitioning those daily entries into a readable and meaningful manuscript. I learned so much from this book. It proved to be a mini history lesson on the progression of teaching methods and learning from the perspective of an educator, world traveler, world-class artist, and American who lived for a short time in Nazi Germany. Reading the journal snippets from so long ago, I could hear Nancy's voice in my head. Bottom line-McKinnon took on a vast project and knocked it out of the park! She has penned a book that is a perfect read for all but an absolute must-read for those interested in history, memoirs, and education. The book would make a perfect gift. I highly recommend you order a copy today and author Barbara McKinnon will catch you, too!
-KEN MURRAY, AUTHOR OF ON PARR
